Restaurant Owners Plan To Rebuild

Employees And Longtime Customers Of Alexander's Riverfront Restaurant Were Stunned By The Fire.

July 8, 1999|By Doris Bloodsworth of The Sentinel Staff

A 35-year-old restaurant on the bank of the Wekiva River burned to the ground early Wednesday as Seminole County firefighters battled helplessly to save the rustic wooden structure.

The estimated loss was almost $1 million, authorities said.

Alexander's Riverfront Restaurant was nothing but charred rubble by the time firefighters extinguished the fire about 6:20 a.m., said Paula Ritchey, a spokeswoman for Seminole County Fire/Rescue. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, she said.

Restaurant manager Randy Crumpton called 911 at 3:39 a.m., Ritchey said. Crumpton had been closing when he noticed smoke, authorities said. When it became clear he couldn't stop the smoke with a fire extinguisher, he fled the building and made the emergency call.

Firefighters arrived within minutes at the restaurant, near the Seminole-Orange county line, and were joined by other units. Co-owner Tony Varvaris, 37, said the structure was already engulfed in flames by the time he arrived. The building was insured, Varvaris said.

Varvaris, who lives just blocks away in the Sabal Point neighborhood, said he and his partner, John Thanopoulos, plan to rebuild.

Throughout the afternoon, employees and longtime customers came by to stare in disbelief. Many cried as they reminisced about the restaurant that has gone through a number of name changes.

Lenora Gearhart, 40, said she had grown up across from the restaurant and was shocked at its destruction. ``There was no other restaurant like this,'' she said.

For more than 30 years, Alexander's was known as Wekiwa Marina Restaurant. It catered to catfish lovers and canoeists.

A popular tradition of the restaurant for many years was feeding scraps to raccoons, which came out at twilight. But in 1991, the state Department of Natural Resources stopped the practice out of fear that the animals would spread disease and that they would become dependent on handouts.

In 1995, the restaurant became known as Cock of the Walk. Two years ago, the restaurant changed hands again and became Alexander's.